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Commissioners press mayor for firm timeline on $5.2M ARP-funded radio project after field complaints
Summary
Commissioners sought a firmer update on the county’s Motorola TACN radio system — funded by an ARP grant — after reports of coverage gaps and operational problems; county leadership said site upgrades and supply-chain delays have slowed rollout.
Commissioners pressed County Mayor Robert Daniel and Emergency Management Director (EMA) Director Kitchens for a firmer timeline on a long-delayed county radio replacement project after constituents and first responders reported coverage and reliability problems.
The project — funded in part with an American Rescue Plan grant the transcript cites at roughly $5,200,000 and previously approved by resolution 22-22 on May 10, 2022 — centers on installing a TACN communications system and new radios for public-safety agencies. Commissioners said they had received reports that firefighters and other first responders had resorted to cell phones or landlines during some incidents because portable radios were unreliable.
“Some of our responders had to pick up their cell phone or even use a landline to contact dispatch,” Commissioner Max said, urging the mayor’s office to get Motorola moving on the outstanding work. The commissioner said he expected a more “firm update” and warned of political consequences if communications failures led to harm.
Mayor Robert Daniel and Director Kitchens said the county has been engaged with Motorola and that technical obstacles contributed to the delay. Kitchens said some tower infrastructure work remains — notably upgrades at the Hawthorne Hill site — and that the county acquired and is refitting a better tower building and upgrading generators and electrical work at multiple sites. He also cited pandemic-era supply-chain problems and vendor staffing changes as reasons for slow delivery of equipment and programming.
Kitchens described a phased plan: distribution of portable radios for testing, followed by mobile installations, and completion of remaining site civil and electrical work. The mayor said state communications staff and vendor representatives have visited the county for troubleshooting and that county staff would continue to push for completion.
No formal vote was taken. Commissioners asked county leadership to provide a clearer, written status update on milestones, equipment delivery, and a schedule for agency testing and mobile installations.
